What's going on at Church of the Cross?  Check out the following headlines adapted from The Reporter, our monthly newsletter.  For news about our United Methodist Youth Fellowship, see this month's Youth activities page.

• Pictorial Directory project underway

Plans are being made to produce a new church pictorial directory. Beth Lybrook has agreed to direct the project that will be done by Olan Mills. Photography dates are:

August 10, 3:00-9:30 p.m.
August 11, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
August 20, 3:00-9:30 p.m.

Please make your appointment Sundays through August 5 before and after services at the table in the lobby or by calling the church office (293-5217) or Beth Lybrook.  Volunteers are needed for this project too. If you can help, call or email Beth soon.

• Abi Gerstle, missionary, to speak on August 5

Abi grew up in Church of the Cross U.M. and was very active in our Youth Fellowship and Young Life.  She will speak on August 5 at both worship services and share her calling into full-time missionary service. Abi has shared faith on the boardwalk in New Jersey with Campus Crusade, lived in France for a semester, interned with Hillside Missions in Bristol, CT, and lived in Afghanistan for several months. While in Wales for nine months of training with World Horizons, Abi will study Hermeneutics, Cultural Adaptation, Disciple-Making, Spiritual Development, and How to Learn a Foreign Language.  A special offering will be received to help her in her full-time ministry.

• Dan Craig on a mission to Russia

Our Director of Youth Ministries, Dan Craig, has a wonderful opportunity. He was asked by our West Ohio Conference Camping Coordinator to be a participant on a mission trip to Russia. Dan was asked because he has extensive experience in Christian camping and running camping facilities. Dan is one of a team of five from the West Ohio Conference participating in this trip. This particular West Ohio United Methodist Mission Trip will focus on enabling the 12 churches in the Russia United Methodist Volga District to create a Christian camping experience for their church families. The Russian United Methodist Church began with only five congregations in 1992. Now there are well over a hundred United Methodist churches. Through interpreters, Dan will help train Russian Christians to run a week of Christian camping. Please keep him and the entire team in your prayers.

• School bag contents being collected

The Mission Work Area is once again sponsoring the collection of school bag materials for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) during July and August. The plastic bags with the list of needed items are in the lobby. There is an additional box for any “leftovers” you may have—or need—to complete your kits. Money donations may also be made to cover the required $1 per kit for shipping.

• Tour the Holy Land in 2008

Our trip to Israel has been finalized. We will go on the Holy Land via Jordan 2008 tour which includes the lost city of Petra. Our ten day Holy Land trip begins on February 17, 2008. The total cost per person based on double occupancy from Dayton is $2658. Payment is due 90 days before the trip begins.  Sites we will visit include Jericho, Qumran, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, Caesarea, Megiddo, Nazareth, Cana, the Sea of Galilee, and Capernaum.

If you are interested speak with Pastor John or pick up a brochure from the Mission Bulletin Board. This trip is a way to build your faith and enhance your ability to visualize the Bible. Pastor John will serve as host for the trip with his lovely wife, Mary Lynn, also attending. There are 14 people who are signed up for the trip with several others still considering.

• It's time to register for the Women's Retreat

Registrations are still being accepted for our first, and hopefully, annual women’s retreat. The cost is $120.00 for the weekend not including dinner on the way up and lunch on the way back from Widewater Retreat Center in northwest Ohio.

To see a year's worth of archives of this page, visit our Old news page.